On a 10-point meter comprised of visuals and story where ideally each would consume five points equally, "TRON: Legacy" tips the scale in the tech department with eight while only leaving two for humanity.
A wonderful, visual display of computer graphics and visual effects, “Tron Legacy,” is one of the most immersive films made in years with a plot that blows last year’s billion dollar baby [Avatar] out of the water. Thematically, this movie is about utopia versus an imperfect world, capitalism versus socialism, fathers and sons, and finding one’s self. Jeff Bridges has no problem rehashing Kevin Flynn, while Olivia Wilde is a doe-eyed surprise. Perhaps the one caveat in this digital world is the ambition to restore a young looking Bridges as Clu 2.0, while the hero of the film, Garrett Hedlund, was not as charismatic as he should have been. Daft Punk’s score sores with electronic sweetness with some slight help from Hans Zimmer’s composing genius. “Tron Legacy” is a movie for the users, not the programmed critics.
It’s no surprise that Tron Legacy is not a critic’s dream film. In fact, almost every review of the film out right now tries to expunge and discredit the film due to its poor screenplay while complementing its outstanding visuals. Seems familiar, as I would venture to guess that most of the people writing these reviews do not remember the original movie nor did they know that movie was a critical dud as well. The original Tron received a consensus that is perhaps not as strong dramatically as it is technologically, but it was an original and visually stunning piece of science fiction that represents a landmark work in the history of computer animation. Tron Legacy in my mind is no different, but where it stands out from its predecessor is that it musters up some unbelievable action, 3D immersion, tasty production design – all mixed within a story that answers some great questions of what Kevin Flynn would do after an experience he had in the first movie.
One thing I commend is they continued the world, made it evolutionary, while not shitting on the original film. They did this while simultaneously rebooting the world of Tron for a potential franchise. Unlike JJ Abrams’ Star Trek, which was a reboot, re-imagining of the world of Trek (creatively made it an alternate reality that does not kill 40 years of canon), Tron Legacy continues the world in the evolutionary way we thought it would.
Perhaps the only complaint I have about the movie is Garrett Hedlund is not the charismatic hero you thought he would be. Thus, Disney didn’t hit a homerun in his casting like a Chris Pine was in Star Trek. He reminded more of a Hayden Christensen in Star Wars. The movie begins with classic exposition, explaining the Kevin Flynn story from the first film, wrapped within the Daft Punk score with hints of Hans Zimmer. The movie becomes immersive for any newcomer or fan waiting to see what will happen next. Just like the original, an Encom break-in series of scenes is shown, even homaging itself with a line like “that is a really big door.” We are then introduced to Sam Flynn, a rebel youth, who would rather sabotage his father’s company than work for it. A cool Ducati scene as he approaches Encom towers is very Dark Knight-esque and was impressive to see, especially with the awesome “Son of Flynn” Daft Punk track going on. In this little series of scenes we get a cameo of a future villain, given a successful box office turn of the movie. You will have to see the movie to know who I am talking about, but it’s a killer move by the screenwriters. Once Sam accomplishes his goal, he is reunited with his friend and mentor, Alan Bradley, who tells him he got a page from his father’s arcade the previous night and that Sam should go check it out.
This leads Sam on a mission to explore Flynn’s Arcade. Once he is there, we find more homages to the original film, such as the staple couch in his dad’s office, Flynn’s version of the portable game player, etc. Sam, not knowing what will happen next, is thrust into the digital world his father created before he went missing. There, the movie begins its 3D immersion and exploration of this new Grid, which Kevin Flynn describes in the beginning of the movie. “A digital frontier. I tried to picture clusters of information as they moved through the computer, what they look like. Ships, motorcycles were the circuits like freeways? I kept dreaming of a world I thought I would never see, and then one day I got in.” Flynn’s experience from the first film spurred him to take all the resources of Encom and change the world. What he didn’t count on was that this manifest destiny to bridge the digital and real world together would backfire. Enter the Tron Legacy storyline, which for most of the movie, is one large set-up. A father/son story, this is also a story of utopia, a story of perfection versus being human. The characters play out a lot like they did in the 1982 movie. I saw critics complain that Bridges’ older Flynn was part Einstein, part The Dude. This is who Kevin Flynn was, and let’s not forget he was Flynn before he was the Dude. In the original movie, there is a great scene at the beginning where he breaks a record on the lightcycle video game and he does a” kung fu zen move” at his friends. Flynn has always been a hippy. Why was this such a weird thing to see in the movie? Clu 2.0 is a lot like Sark and Master Control combined into one, whereas Sam Flynn is much like his dad, thrust in a world he only dreamed of – except for Sam, it was a bedtime story told by his father. There are similar moments too, such as scared programs, the clamoring of an actual user on the grid by programs, the pomp of the disc games and lightcycle arenas all like the original movie, but with our modern CGI and technical flair to bring you more into this world than ever before. Joe Kosinski was brilliant in his production design. It’s like he and Kevin Flynn are the same guy.
Tron Legacy is not a perfect movie. The complaint of Hedlund is just one small reason why, but there are other little things about the movie that are droll as well. First off, it is a tad too long, not enough to bore you, but you feel it after the movie is over. Plus, the action could have been a little better, because after the visual shock of how cool it is, there are some mundane parts to it. Again, not enough to say it’s bad, though. Ultimately, I thought the movie was excellent because it felt like the original movie, a period piece. It was a true sequel that allows for so many directions the franchise could go forward. I also thought the themes in the movie were surprisingly deep and rich. Tron has never been about making a Dark Knight level story, which has flaws. It has always been about pushing people’s imagination while giving them an entertaining thrill ride in a world that exists in the thoughts of every video game and computer nerd. I think if you are fan of the original, love films like Star Trek, Star Wars, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, The Last Starfighter, and The Matrix then this movie is perfect for you. If you want to look at this movie like an arthouse production, indie movie or even like Chris Nolan’s Inception, then you probably shouldn’t see it, because it is not the same kind of movie and perhaps that critical lens should not be used or you will be disappointed like a lot of these critics seem to have been. Like Tron, I always fight for the user, yeah! 
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